


Is This Our Final Goodbye?

by DefinateStorm



Category: BioShock, BioShock Infinite
Genre: Apocalypse, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Gen, Nuclear Winter, Survival, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2017-12-15 21:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/854257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefinateStorm/pseuds/DefinateStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After 120 years, Robert is finally reunited with his sister. But an oncoming war threatens to destroy the sanctuary that they have. Even though he is sure they have everything they need to survive it, after a horrific event, Robert fears he may lose his sister once more, and this time, for good. Kind of AU, but not really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Goodbye

Prologue

_"It's hard being left alone."_

Robert peered through the window to Booker's office. The window was foggy and dusty, but he could see Booker and Elizabeth -well, Anna- standing near the desk. His heart leaped with joy and he turned to Rosalind, there was a large smile on his face and though she tried to look annoyed, he could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"We did it." he said, "We finally did it."

"Was it us?" Rosalind turned away from him, "Or was it Booker?"

"It isn't important." Robert sighed, "They are together now." He took her hand, briefly noting how cold she was, and started for his house, "It will be different…"

"What will?" she asked.

"You will be staying with me. But I don't have any of the luxuries you had." he ran his thumb over her hand thoughtfully, "Nor do I have the funding to continue any _serious_ research."

"Robert, my world is gone." she said. He paused momentarily, turning his gaze to her.

"Excuse me?" he tilted his head slightly, "What do you mean?" She didn't answer, but he was able to put it together on his own. After Booker's drowning, Comstock had been wiped out. And in the process, Rosalind's world had been wiped away as well. It didn't mean anything, after all, she was still with him. But he would admit, he'd been worrying about it since they returned to a completely live state. "I'm sure it isn't a problem." He tried to offer a smile, but when he saw the blood dripping from her ears, he panicked.

He should have known that she would hemorrhage, he'd done so when he arrived in her world. It would be the same for her.

"I think-"

"Don't think." he interrupted, "Let's just get home." He mentally cursed the fact that he lived so far away. How long could she walk before she completely shut down as he had?

"But I don't live here… This isn't where I-" she stopped and tightened her grip on his hand, "Let's go…" He nodded and started walking again. He tried to remember a shortcut to his own house, but he came up blank.

"We're almost there." They had another 20 minutes of walking at the most, but judging by her pained murmurs, they didn't have much time before she shut down.

He nervously chewed his lip and tried to speed up. She was getting cold and the bleeding had increased. "Just hold on." he told her anxiously. She didn't respond, and he didn't look at her, "Maybe we should go to a hospital?"

"No." she said, "It will pass."

"But you're bleeding." he reminded, "A lot."

"No."

He sighed and continued on, he could see the house now. He scooped her into his arms and rushed there, "We're here." he set her down on his couch and rushed to get a towel.

"Robert?" she called.

"I'm coming." he replied. He returned with the towel and placed it around her neck to catch the blood from her ears, "How do you feel?"

"Fine… It's only a little blood." she sighed, "And a massive headache."

"When I bled, what did you do?" he asked.

"Nothing. I put you to bed and it stopped on it's own." she replied. He nodded and picked her up again. She went limp in his arms and he panicked.

"Rosalind?" he shook her slightly, "Rosalind?" He rushed up to his room and layed her down on the bed. The bleeding in her ears had stopped, but her nose had started to bleed. "I'm getting a doctor." he said. He rushed out of the house again and panicked, where was the nearest hospital again?

"Robert!" he heard her scream. He turned back quickly and entered the house. Her screams hadn't stopped and when he entered the room, she was curled up on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked, "What's happening."

"It doesn't want me here… This isn't the same… Your world doesn't want me here." she strained. Her face twisted in pain and she rolled onto her stomach.

"What?" he was confused.

"My world vanished, I should have as well." she forced the words out and swallowed, "And I think I'm going to…"

"No, it will pass!" he got down on his knees, "You said so yourself!"

"I did but… I was wrong." it was hard hearing her say that. Both of them had rarely admitted to being wrong, especially when arguing with each other. Usually he would rejoice, but considering the situation, it only scared him.

"You would have vanished when the Elizabeth's did." He lifted her up and back onto the bed and held her on his lap. She was still bleeding and the blood began to pool in his lap.

"I suppose the universe just wanted to give me a little time." she started shaking, "I'm trying to prolong it Robert but… It hurts too much."

"You can't give up, Rosalind. Stay here, I'll find someway to reverse it." he said, "I just need time..." And several hundred dollars to make anything that could save her, but it was obvious that he didn't have any of that.

"Robert, there are other Rosalind's. You can rebuild the machine and find another." she breathed. Had she meant to reassure him? Why would he ever think something like that would work.

"No." he held her close, "None of them are you. They share your face and name but, it's you I need."

"I… I don't want to leave." she whispered.

"And I want you to stay." he absently ran his fingers through her hair. Rosalind had fallen quiet, her erratic breathing was the only sign that she was still there. "Don't leave me." he remembered how he'd threatened to leave her before. The act seemed selfish now, she stayed by his side and helped him clear his guilty heart and now that they were done, she was disappearing.

"Goodbye, brother." she whispered. He didn't reply, she disappeared before he could. His hands fell limp against his lap and he stared down at the spot she'd very recently occupied. The only thing that even proved she was real was the blood she'd left behind. But in time, even that began to disappear. She was gone… She was really gone… And he hadn't even said goodbye…


	2. Hello

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert is reunited with Rosalind.

Chapter 1

**October 21, 2013**

Robert sat in front of the fire place and sighed. He needed to relax but while he was comfortable here he couldn't relax. There was something missing. He'd paid the best workers to build this home 70 years ago and it was perfect. There was a lab, there was a library, 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a very nice living room. It was large and empty but he couldn't but think about how much Rosalind would have loved it.

120 years had passed since she was taken from him, with all that time, he should have been able to forget her. After all, the world did. But he couldn't… He just couldn't get over the fact that he hadn't said goodbye. He had held her in his arms, listened to the fear in her voice and when she'd said goodbye, he hadn't responded to her. Why had he waited so long? Why had he-

"Stop it." he told himself as he stood up. He couldn't sit and mope around for too long. He had work to do, with the winter coming soon, he wanted as much firewood as he could get before it snowed. Winters here were horrible and he didn't want to be caught unprepared like the last year. He shuddered and wondered if he would have survived if not for his immortality.

He put out the fire in the fireplace and grabbed his ax. A smile formed on his face when he wondered what Rosalind would think of his new lifestyle. He lived in a cabin in the middle of the wilderness. Sure, he trekked to town when he needed more Froot Loops, but for the most part, he was alone. Which was good, because every 20 or so years, when he went to town, he could always say he was new in town and no one would question his longevity.

He looked towards the pile of firewood, he was pretty well off, but what was a little more? He still had a pile of wood that needed to be chopped and after that, he would search for dead trees in the forest. He found his stump, set up a block of wood and smashed it into two separate logs. He allowed himself to be lulled into his usual exercise. When he was in the zone, anything could sneak up on him. It was a bad characteristic and had ended horribly for him once or twice. After 10 minutes of constant chopping, scream, broke his concentration. A familiar scream at that. He paused momentarily and tried to figure out where it had come from.

He dropped the ax and ran straight back into his home to retrieve a gun. Screams in the forest were never a good thing. The person screamed again and he ran into the forest. This person sounded too familiar. He would admit that he hadn't heard her scream too often, but even if it wasn't who he thought it was, he had to at least help her right? "Hello?!" he called, "Where are you?!"

"Near the river!" came the urgent response. His heart raced as he hurried to the river and spotted the victim. She was on the ground, crawling away from a bear. It was relatively small compared to the other ones he'd seen and he found himself hesitating to shoot it.

The bear roared and moved closer to the girl. He realized that she was already hurt and that he needed to act soon. He fired the shotgun and killed the bear instantly. He would have to get rid of the body later or it would attract other predators with its scent. "Are you okay?" he walked over to the woman and bent down next to her. He couldn't see her face, it was obscured by a hood.

"Robert." she breathed.

"What?" He lifted her hood and gasped, "Rosalind?" he questioned.

"Who else?" she smiled weakly, It was clear that she probably hadn't eaten in days. How long had she been wandering in the forest?

"Rosalind." he repeated, "You… died…"

"He scratched me, but it isn't deep enough to kill me." she gestured to the wound, "I don't think I'll be needing a hospital."

"No… You died. I watched you disappear, I watched you bleed out. You  _died_." his vice rose unintentionally and he forced himself to calm down. This was Rosalind,  _his_ Rosalind. But how had she returned to him?

"I did, and it was painful." she nodded, "But it's been a few days and the universe does have its bursts of kindness." A few days?

"How did you… When did you return?"

"I'd say about 6 days ago?" she said thoughtfully, "I just appeared here wearing this outfit. I've been wandering out here for a while. Trying to find a town. I was going to start looking for you…"

"How did you know I was still alive?" he questioned.

"Well, I imagine it's only been a few days." she coughed, "Why wouldn't you still be alive?"

"Rosalind… No… It's been 120 years." he said. He watched her face, she looked confused, and maybe that was too much for her. Her nose started to bleed and with a groan, she promptly passed out. A small smile tugged at his lips and he scooped her up. She was back… They had a lot to discuss, but that didn't matter, because he had her back and no one was going to take her away again.


	3. Cars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A car ride to the store.

Robert sat at the fireplace, his hands tracing circles on the carpet absently. She’d been gone for too long and he was beginning to regret letting her go to town alone. He’d give her 2 minutes before he got up to look for her.

The cup of tea he’d prepared for himself had gotten cold, but he still sipped from it as he waited impatiently. The forest was hazardous when it was this cold out. One wrong turn and she could find herself lost in the thick trees. One false step and she could end up impaled on a jagged rock. Or a rather sharp icicle could fall from the trees and crush her skull. It had yet to snow yet, but once it did, she wouldn’t be able to tell one tree for another.

It was also late and staying out late had dire affects on her. She was still weak, whether she liked to believe it or not. Whatever she was doing in town almost always led to her collapsing in pain once she walked through the door.

The doorknob twitched and he stood immediately. Rosalind entered the house and rolled her eyes when she saw him. “Don’t tell me you waited up for me again.” She looked tired, but he was pleased to note that she wasn’t tired enough to collapse as she usually did.

“It’s dark out, you know how dangerous it gets.” he argued. They’d had this conversation before. It was a cold winter and he didn’t know why she spent so much time outside. The world would be pleasurable come spring and then it wouldn’t matter. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“But I didn’t.” she said with an ice cold tone that he wasn’t used to.

“What took you so long?” He tried to change the subject, “Did you see something in town that you liked?”

“No.” she said

“Did you see someone?”

“No.” she said.

“Then what took you so long?” he sighed.

“Nothing Robert, I just needed a little time to myself.” she snapped. He turned away, she wasn’t in the mood to talk to him and she hadn’t been since he’d found her. Their meals were often filled with forced conversations, and when she wasn’t outside, she was locked in the library reading a book. He didn’t know what was causing the rift between them, but he wished to resolve it quickly.

“Fine.” he  nodded and walked back to the fire, “Did you at least enjoy yourself?”

“I did. I stopped by the observatory.” she came over next to him, “It isn’t as interesting as what we used to do, but it was satisfying.”

“We could continue the research Rosalind.” he reminded, “I have the machine in the basement.”

“I don’t want to mess with such things again, not yet.” she said slowly, her hand moved to her temple slowly, “You understand don’t you?” He nodded and took a seat on the floor, “I’m going to bed now.” she set her bag down next to him and headed for the stairs. He took note of the strain in her voice but didn’t look at her.

“Goodnight.” he said.

He listened to her footsteps until he couldn’t hear them anymore before looking towards the bag. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she wanted him to look in it. But why couldn’t she have just said that she had something for him?

Robert reached into the bag and pulled out the thin piece of paper. There was a note on it and to his surprise, a small amount of blood on the back. She was having nosebleeds again and she didn’t plan on telling him.

_Do you ever dream Robert?_

He turned the paper over and tried to find something that he might have missed. Was this really all there was to the note. Yes, he dreamed. He dreamed of happy things most of the time. Researching with Rosalind, walks in Columbia, things he’d done in the past. He sometimes dreamt of starting a family and having children, but those dreams were more sad than anything. Whatever the dream was, it usually included Rosalind and it made him feel disappointed when he woke up and found that she had to strain to say good morning to him.

But what was the point to this note? Was she looking to debate on the subject? Or was she herself not dreaming? He would have to ask. He set the note down and looked at the other contents of the bag. A chocolate bar that was most likely not for him. A postcard that depicted Alaska. 2 dollars in quarters. And a small switch blade.

“What?”  he mumbled as he examined the items. He spread them out in front of him and tapped his chin thoughtfully. Rosalind usually had a reason for doing everything, so why all this? Why wasn’t she talking to him? He put the things away and took the bag upstairs with him. He set it down outside of Rosalind’s room and went to his own.

They had to go into town together in the morning. It would be a long car ride and she wouldn’t be able to ignore him then.

0.o.0.o.0

“And I thought I’d get you a phone.” Robert said as they got into the car. Rosalind’s eyes flitted over the interior curiously, there hadn’t been any cars in Columbia, just carriages and even before that, he knew she’d only seen a few in her own time.

“There’s already a phone in the house.” she said, “I don’t think I’ll be needing one for my room.” She ran her fingers over the steering wheel, blissfully unaware of how childlike she looked.

“That isn’t what I meant.” he found himself smiling at her curiosity, “A portable phone. To carry when you go into town.”

“Hmm.” Rosalind sat back and looked at him, “Does it worry you that much?” She asked, “Really, there’s no danger.”

“There is. You haven’t been hurt yet, but there are dangerous people out there.” he didn’t want to begin ranting at her. She wasn’t a child, she just needed to realize that it wasn’t safe for her to wander around so much, “Also, the forest is far too easy to get lost in.”

“But you have this car.” she said, “You could have been driving me to town? I wouldn’t get lost then, and we could put this nonsense behind us..”

“I doubt you’d want to go to town with me.” he sighed.

“What?” she narrowed her eyes at him, “What do you mean?”

“We haven’t spoken much in the last 3 weeks Rosalind.” he reminded, “And any conversations we have seem to be forced.”

“Forced?”

“Rosalind, don’t pretend as if you don’t know what I’m talking about.” he said, “We haven’t had a real conversation since you died.” She flinched at that and he felt a pang of guilt. It probably wasn’t a good idea to remind her of her death.

“Robert… I can’t.” she said, “It isn’t you, I want to talk to you, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It hurts.” she said simply and then he noticed that she was bleeding. Did talking to him really cause her nose to bleed? He had to think back a hundred years to recall what it was like, he remembered the intense pain. It started behind his eyes and exploded into a head splitting migraine if precautions weren’t taken. If she was experiencing that by talking to him, he might have to leave her if he was really causing her so much pain.

“I didn’t know.” he said. He handed her a tissue and  tapped the steering wheel. “You don’t have to come…”

“Robert, this is nothing.” she said quickly, “I’ve been looking forward to this for some time now.”

“Have you?” he couldn’t understand how she could possibly look forward to an evening of pain.

“I have, I don’t enjoy walking to town alone. It’s cold and you never showed me around like you promised.” she removed the tissue from her nose and looked at him. “And this bleeding is going to stop. I won’t allow it to ruin my day.”

“Spending time away from me would be helpful.” he said.

“No!” she blurted, “Why do you keep threatening to leave me?”

“I… I’m not being selfish this time.” he said, “I believe you’d be able to meld into  this world a lot easier if you didn’t have to look at me.”

“Robert. I’m already ‘melded’ into this world alright?” she said, “I just can’t handle the headaches as well as you.”

“It’s not just the headaches that worries me.” he admitted, “But whenever you spend so much time out, you sometimes collapse when you get home.”

“I don’t-”

“You do.” he interrupted, “You collapse and hold your head in what I assume to be pain. Your temperature drops and it takes hours to get you stable again.” Only for her to blatantly ignore him in the morning. “Subjecting yourself to all of this at once isn’t good for you. Would it kill you to stay inside for a day?”

“Why would it kill me?” she questioned seriously.

“It’s a figure of speech Rosalind.” he smiled.

“So, why suggest that staying inside would kill me if it weren’t true? That adds unnecessary worries doesn’t it? Is your house not safe?” she leaned back and crossed her arms, “What are we getting in town anyway?”

“Winter is coming soon. We need to stock up on food and supplies because it’ll be impossible to drive once it snows.” he said, “If we have to go to town, we’d have to walk.”

“I’ve been walking.” she reminded, “It isn’t that bad, just cold.”

“Would you like it if we lived in town?” he’d be less worried then. People that prowled the streets at night weren’t the best, but he’d always be closer to her.

“No. The people, the children I mean, are unbearable.” she sneered, “I don’t think I could handle it.”

“Children aren’t that bad.” he started the car, “Most are just uneducated. Not the way they used to be.” He was still worried about her, but at least her bleeding had stopped. He wanted to ask her about the bag, but he felt that would just complicate things further, now wasn’t the time. “We should get something to eat while we’re out.” He navigated the roads carefully and found the road.

“There are a lot of places in town.” Rosalind said, “I haven’t tried too many, they’re all so expensive.” He didn’t know what she did while she was in town, she never had any money to spend, but she had to be doing something.

“What is it you do in town?” He asked.

“Usually I sit in the gardens, it’s all freezing over but it’s really quiet there.” she said.

“It’ll be beautiful when Spring comes.” Robert said. If they made it to Spring. He knew how bad the Winter’s were and being an hour away from town caused nothing but problems. When it snowed too bad, the pipes froze and he had no water. Two years in a row he’d found himself snowed in for weeks at a time.

Could Rosalind handle that? She was weak, and if they ran out of food or firewood, she wouldn’t make it. “Where do you get your money Robert?” she asked suddenly, “You never really work.”

“I had a job once.” he said, “I worked for a good 20 years before I quit.”

“What did you do?”

“Construction mostly, I did a little physics work, but it wasn’t the same.” He sighed, “A while back I won the lottery.” Rosalind’s eyebrows rose slightly, she was obviously thinking back to Columbia’s infamous lottery, “A good lottery.” he clarified.

“And you won the house?”

“No, I won $10,000.” Robert said.

“$10,000?” Rosalind gasped, “And you used it to build this house?”

“Yes.” he said, “But you should know, $10,000 isn’t as much as it used to be.”

“It isn’t?”

“No, things have changed. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” Robert said, “In fact, it takes $27 to buy what would only cost a dollar in 1910.”

“What?”

“It’s good that I built my house when I did, I could never afford one now.” Robert sighed, “I pick up small jobs every now and then.” Rosalind didn’t speak, she was too busy thinking.

“And you’ve been eating stew for how many years now?”

“I don’t usually have it, but since you arrived, I haven’t had the time to go out for more food.” he said, “But you like it don’t you?”

“No.” she said, “It’s disgusting.”

“Well, after today we won’t be eating it much.” he said. Rosalind hummed softly and looked out of the window. He knew she liked the car, especially when he considered how lazy she usually was. He didn’t know how she managed the 2 hour walks to town everyday, when they were in Columbia, she found it a bother to walk all the way to the shop a few minutes away.

He glanced at her and noticed that she was rubbing her temples. That was an obvious sign of an oncoming headache. “How about we listen to the radio?” he suggested. He had a few classical music stations already, maybe that would calm the pain she felt when talking to him.

“Yes, please.” she murmured. He turned it on and remained quiet, “Thank you.” she said.

“We’ll be there in a little, why don’t you take a nap?” Robert suggested, if only to ease her headache.

“I’m not tired.” she said. Rosalind  wasn’t sure where she’d been since she died. She’d come up with a few theories on her own, but too much thought made her dizzy. She assumed she had just been thrown ahead in time, but there was no reason for that to happen… She didn't need to think about that.

She sighed and opened her eyes again, they looked as if they hadn’t moved, “I thought you said this would be quicker.” she said.

“It will, it only takes 30 minutes to get there.” Robert said, “Just relax.” Rosalind shifted, she was getting restless, which was odd. She used to be able to sit still for long periods of time without moving a muscle. She would be a little sore but that was it. “You’re bored.” Robert said, “You should have brought something to read.”

“Yes.” she began examining the window controls. It was all simple technology but it looked so shiny. Things like that were usually made as a trophy, they were never something useful. Comstock had once commented on the bulkiness of her machine, but she;d quickly put any protests of its look to rest. It didn’t matter how it looked, it just needed to work. But Robert’s car, it was shiny and it worked. “Robert?” she looked to him.

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you get married?” she asked.

“Because…” he started but stopped, “I wanted to… but then she would have wanted to have kids.”

“And?”

“To have kids meant I would have to step down from whatever plane of existence this is and become human.” he explained, “But I wanted to wait for you. In case you did show up.”

“Really? And now that i’m here?” She asked.

“Rosalind, not-” and then she flew forward, her seat belt stopped her from hitting the dashboard but it dug painfully into her chest and pulled the air from her lungs. “Rosalind?”

She coughed and sat back, “What happened?” she asked.

“Just a wolf.” he said.

“There are no wolves here.” she rubbed her chest.

“There most certainly are. You just haven’t seen them.” It was getting harder to breath and her vision was blurring. “Rosalind, take deep breaths.” Robert said. She tried, but it didn’t work.

“Robert…” she gasped as red began to seep into her vision, she felt much as she did when she was dying only she was sure she wasn't breathing. She managed to cough out his name once more before things went black. 

 


End file.
